Voicemail systems allow a calling party to leave a voicemail message for a called party if the called party is unavailable to answer an incoming call. Typically, a calling party places a call to a desired called party using a landline or wireless telephone and, after a predetermined number of unanswered rings, the host network routes the call to a voicemail system that includes a voicemail box for the called party. The voicemail system plays a default or custom greeting that prompts the calling party to leave a voicemail message. The voicemail message is recorded and stored in association with the called party's voicemail box for later retrieval by the called party.
Traditional voicemail systems (referred to herein as plain-old voicemail or POVM) allow users to retrieve messages stored in his or her voicemail box using a telephone user interface (TUI). Users are able to listen to messages, skip messages, delete messages, and save messages using the TUI. TUIs also provide functions for users to set a voicemail greeting, record a voicemail greeting, record a name, and set/change a voicemail password.
In order for a user to hear a voicemail message that is not the only or first new message in the voicemail box, POVM users must listen to, skip, delete, or save each voicemail message while reviewing their voicemail box. This is time consuming and can be frustrating for the user in situations where an important voicemail message has been deposited.
Various voicemail systems have been developed to help reduce the need to search through multiple voicemail messages to retrieve a particular voicemail message. One such system is configured to prioritize voicemail messages based upon a priority scheme. The priority scheme includes a plurality of priority levels that can be assigned to various telephone numbers, such as those stored in a user's contact list. The system uses a calling party's telephone number to set a priority for a voicemail message left by the called party, and to position the voicemail message in the called party's voicemail box in an order prescribed by the priority scheme. When the called party accesses the voicemail system to acquire voicemail messages, he or she is presented with each voicemail message in the prescribed order. This reduces the need to listen to or skip through multiple voicemail messages to find an important message. In some instances, however, an important message may be assigned a position of low importance, for example, if the called party has not set a priority for the particular calling party. In this system, the priority for an incoming voicemail message is determined directly by the telephone number associated with the calling party.
Other systems allow a called party to access voicemail messages directly from their mobile device without having to call a voicemail system. Such systems are commonly referred to as visual voicemail (VVM) systems. In these systems, a calling party leaves a voicemail message in a typical manner as described above. The VVM system then sends the voicemail message in an appropriate audio file format to the called party's mobile device for storage and retrieval. Alternatively, the VVM system sends header information including, for example, the calling party, length of the voicemail message, the date and time the voicemail message was recorded, and any necessary details regarding the host VVM system that the mobile device needs to retrieve the voicemail message. When the called party selects the voicemail message from the mobile device, the mobile device uses the header information to contact the VVM system and request the voicemail audio content associated with the voicemail message. The VVM system sends the voicemail audio content in an appropriate audio file format to the mobile device. The mobile device may alternatively stream the voicemail audio content.
Voicemail systems have security mechanisms, such as passwords, in place to prevent unauthorized access to voicemail messages. Some voicemail systems allow remote access from landlines or wireless devices with the proper password, and other voicemail systems require access from the device associated with the requested voicemail box. Passwords are provided manually by the user upon each access or supplied by the user's device when the user dials the voicemail system number.
A user may forget their password, lose their device, purchase a new device, upgrade/downgrade their service, or otherwise make a change to their account that affects their ability to access their voicemail box. Most often, the user calls customer service to retrieve the information (e.g., voicemail password and voicemail number) necessary to regain access to their voicemail box. In other situations, a voicemail service provider may make changes that affect a user's ability to access their voicemail box.